The 1960–61 Southern Football League season was the 58th in the history of the league, an English football competition.
Oxford United won the championship, whilst Kettering Town, Cambridge United, Bexleyheath & Welling and Merthyr Tydfil were all promoted to the Premier Division. Ten Southern League clubs applied to join the Football League at the end of the season, but none were successful.
Premier Division
editThe Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from the previous season and four new clubs, promoted from Division One:
League table
edit| Season | 1960–61 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Oxford United |
| Relegated | Dartford Hastings United Wisbech Town |
| Matches played | 462 |
| Goals scored | 1,697 (3.67 per match) |
← 1959–60 1961–62 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford United | 42 | 27 | 10 | 5 | 104 | 43 | 2.419 | 64 | |
| 2 | Chelmsford City | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 91 | 55 | 1.655 | 57 | |
| 3 | Yeovil Town | 42 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 109 | 54 | 2.019 | 55 | |
| 4 | Hereford United | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 83 | 67 | 1.239 | 52 | |
| 5 | Weymouth | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 78 | 63 | 1.238 | 51 | |
| 6 | Bath City | 42 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 74 | 52 | 1.423 | 50 | |
| 7 | Cambridge City | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 101 | 71 | 1.423 | 44 | |
| 8 | Wellington Town | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 66 | 68 | 0.971 | 43 | |
| 9 | Bedford Town | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 94 | 97 | 0.969 | 43 | |
| 10 | Folkestone Town | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 75 | 86 | 0.872 | 43 | |
| 11 | King's Lynn | 42 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 68 | 66 | 1.030 | 42 | |
| 12 | Worcester City | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 69 | 69 | 1.000 | 41 | |
| 13 | Clacton Town | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 82 | 83 | 0.988 | 41 | |
| 14 | Romford | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 66 | 69 | 0.957 | 41 | |
| 15 | Guildford City | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 65 | 62 | 1.048 | 39 | |
| 16 | Tonbridge | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 79 | 85 | 0.929 | 38 | |
| 17 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 15 | 7 | 20 | 81 | 81 | 1.000 | 37 | |
| 18 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 42 | 15 | 7 | 20 | 75 | 101 | 0.743 | 37 | |
| 19 | Dartford | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 57 | 90 | 0.633 | 37 | Relegated to Division One |
| 20 | Hastings United | 42 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 60 | 100 | 0.600 | 25 | |
| 21 | Wisbech Town | 42 | 9 | 6 | 27 | 58 | 112 | 0.518 | 24 | |
| 22 | Boston United | 42 | 6 | 8 | 28 | 62 | 123 | 0.504 | 20 | Resigned from the league |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal ratio.
Division One
editDivision One consisted of 21 clubs, including 16 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:
- Four clubs relegated from the Premier Division:
- Plus:
- Canterbury City, elected from the Metropolitan League
League table
edit| Season | 1960–61 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Kettering Town |
| Promoted | Kettering Town Cambridge United Bexleyheath & Welling Merthyr Tydfil |
| Matches played | 420 |
| Goals scored | 1,513 (3.6 per match) |
← 1959–60 1961–62 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kettering Town | 40 | 26 | 7 | 7 | 100 | 55 | 1.818 | 59 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Cambridge United | 40 | 25 | 5 | 10 | 100 | 53 | 1.887 | 55 | |
| 3 | Bexleyheath & Welling | 40 | 22 | 8 | 10 | 93 | 46 | 2.022 | 52 | |
| 4 | Merthyr Tydfil | 40 | 23 | 6 | 11 | 88 | 65 | 1.354 | 52 | |
| 5 | Sittingbourne | 40 | 21 | 10 | 9 | 77 | 63 | 1.222 | 52 | |
| 6 | Hinckley Athletic | 40 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 74 | 59 | 1.254 | 47 | |
| 7 | Ramsgate Athletic | 40 | 19 | 7 | 14 | 77 | 56 | 1.375 | 45 | |
| 8 | Rugby Town | 40 | 18 | 9 | 13 | 89 | 71 | 1.254 | 45 | |
| 9 | Corby Town | 40 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 82 | 73 | 1.123 | 42 | |
| 10 | Poole Town | 40 | 18 | 5 | 17 | 71 | 65 | 1.092 | 41 | |
| 11 | Barry Town | 40 | 16 | 9 | 15 | 65 | 74 | 0.878 | 41 | |
| 12 | Yiewsley | 40 | 17 | 7 | 16 | 65 | 76 | 0.855 | 41 | |
| 13 | Trowbridge Town | 40 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 71 | 73 | 0.973 | 38 | |
| 14 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 40 | 14 | 8 | 18 | 61 | 67 | 0.910 | 36 | |
| 15 | Margate | 40 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 62 | 75 | 0.827 | 34 | |
| 16 | Dover | 40 | 12 | 7 | 21 | 67 | 74 | 0.905 | 31 | |
| 17 | Canterbury City | 40 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 52 | 75 | 0.693 | 30 | |
| 18 | Nuneaton Borough | 40 | 11 | 7 | 22 | 60 | 91 | 0.659 | 29 | |
| 19 | Burton Albion | 40 | 12 | 4 | 24 | 63 | 85 | 0.741 | 28 | |
| 20 | Tunbridge Wells United | 40 | 8 | 5 | 27 | 56 | 115 | 0.487 | 21 | |
| 21 | Gloucester City | 40 | 7 | 7 | 26 | 40 | 102 | 0.392 | 21 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal ratio.
Football League elections
editTen Southern League clubs (including Bexleyheath & Welling and Kettering Town from Division One) applied for election to the Football League. However, all four League clubs were re-elected.[1]